Chapter 44
Dr. Starline finishes patching up TK and moves on to check on Sophia who was starting to feel better, "Sophia, do you mind if I get a blood sample? Elias wants me to analyze it before the drug is completely out of your system." He said,
"That's fine, I'd definitely like to know what made me this out of sorts. How's TK?" She said as he pulls out a needle and takes a blood sample.
"She just needs a good night's sleep. I'll work on this right away, try to get some rest." He said as Sophia looks over at the door expecting Saya to show up.
"Do you think Elias is still yelling at them?" Caroline asked sitting next to Sophia,
"That's would be pretty excessive, it's been over an hour." Alan said,
"I'll go check on them." Brandy said about to walk out of the infirmary as they all get a message on their communicators,
"They're confined to the room for a week?" Caroline said sounding concerned,
"Whoa! What is Elias thinking?" Alan said as Sophia starts to climb out of bed,
"I need to talk to him," Sophia said as Alan stops her,
"You still need rest." He said,
"Elias isn't thinking, if she's trapped in there for that long it could break her." Sophia said looking panicked,
"We can go talk to him, but you shouldn't be walking around right now." Caroline said,
"I concur!" Dr. Starline said from across the room.
"Fine, please go check on her…" Sophia said laying back down,
"We'll let you know what Elias says," Brandy said as the three of them leave.
Inside their room Saya goes and sits on her bed letting out a sigh as Kolt walks over to her, "Saya, I understand you believe this is a just punishment, but I don't think you thought this through." Kolt said looking worried,
"And talking about it and thinking about it will only make it worse." Saya said, "You saw Elias, he's pissed and if suffering for a week means we can get back to making sure what happened today doesn't happen again I'll figure out how to deal."
"Maybe if we apologize…"
"I won't apologize!" Saya snapped taking him off guard. "You weren't back there; she was right at the doorstep of that craft… if I had hesitated for even a moment I would have lost her…" She said as he notices her hands were shaking. "Besides, I can survive seven days in here. It's not like I'm all alone." She smiles at him looking more calm as he gets flustered,
"Y…Yeah, you got me here." He said looking away,
"And all of the others as well," She said, "We got this," Saya gives him a thumbs up.
"Alright, what do we do in the meantime?" He asked,
"I think I have some cards in my pile of stuff." She said searching through her bag.
Alan knocks on Elias' office door as they wait for it to open. The door unlocks and they enter shutting the door behind them. "Now, I know what you're going to say…" Elias tried to start as Brandy quickly cuts him off.
"Really? Because I'm still trying to find words." She said crossing her arms, "I know you're angry at them, but confining Saya to an enclosed space after all that she's gone through it going way too far."
"It's borderline torture." Alan said,
"Saya agreed to it herself. She needs to learn that her actions have consequences." Elias said,
"She agreed to make you feel better. She understands that you're upset, and she thinks that complying with your orders will help make amends." Alan said,
"Then what do you suggest I do? Benching them only goes so far when the person has the ability to defy the laws of physics." Elias said,
"One thing I learned early on is that if she believes what she is doing is right, she will always listen to her heart before she follows orders." Brandy said,
"That's why so many people look up to her." Caroline said,
"So I should let this go?" Elias said,
"We're not saying that, put armed guards on her or something but at least don't confine her to a room with no windows." Brandy said, "I know to you Saya being taken by Eggman was almost two years ago but its far less time for her."
"Not to mention she still has nightmares…" Caroline said,
"Dr. Starline said nothing about nightmares." Elias said looking surprised,
"That doesn't surprise me," Alan said, "She doesn't want to burden anyone, on top of the fact that she still doesn't feel comfortable around him."
"I didn't know that either…" He lets out a sigh, "I'll see if we can schedule times for her to go outside but she will be under guard. Thank you for bringing the info to my attention." Elias said,
"Thanks for listening." Caroline said, "We'll go check on them."
"I'll go talk to them about this later as well. I want to make sure Saya isn't keeping anything else like this to herself. We don't need her blowing up again." Elias said as they nod and start to leave the room, "A quick word Alan." He stops him as the others nod and leave.
"What is it?"
"You noted in your report that you have new abilities. One of which you used on Saya to prevent her from charging into Station Square."
"Not sure I'm liking where this is going…" Alan said crossing his arms,
"You knew that time she wasn't thinking. And you acted on instinct to stop her from putting herself in harm's way." Elias said,
"I mean yeah, her eyes were blind with rage."
"If you ever have that feeling that she isn't thinking straight because she's being too emotional, you do it again." He said with a serious expression,
"You want me to knock her out if she disobeys orders?" Alan asked looking angry, Elias shakes his head.
"She's going to defy orders no matter what. You all have made that abundantly clear. I'm talking about when even she logically knows not to charge in but wants to do it anyway disregarding her own safety."
"When her emotions overpower her gut feeling." He said as Elias nods,
"I will leave it up to you. You seem to recognize the different nuances in her emotions. You don't have to do it if you don't want to. Only if you think it's the only option." She said as Alan nods,
"I'll think about it." He said as he leaves Elias' office.
TK wakes up and looks around as she sees Sophia resting next to her but none of the others were around, "How are you feeling?" Sophia asked seeing her move around,
"Better, what about you?" She said,
"Think the fogs almost gone but Dr. Starline wants me to rest for a little longer." She said sitting up,
"Where are the others?" TK asked looking around,
"They went to go talk with Elias, he's confined Kolt and Saya to our room for a week." She explained,
"What?" She tries to sit up as she stops laying back down grabbing her head,
"Easy! The others are taking care of it." Sophia said trying to calm her down,
"He can't do that! That will seriously mess with Saya." She said,
"I agree but he probably saw it as the only option other than actually locking her up in a cell." Sophia said,
"That would definitely be worse…" TK said with a sigh,
"How are you holding up TK?" Dr. Starline asked walking over to them.
"Way better, thanks Doc," She said with a smile,
"I was able to get a small amount of the drug from Sophia's blood. I have it ready for you to analyze when you are feeling better." He said,
"Will do." She nods,
"I'll leave it here on the counter, I hope I was able to get enough." He said placing it down on the counter.
"You should keep resting, the others were going to check on Saya and Kolt after they talked to Elias," Sophia said as they both lay back and rest
"Saya, that's the third bag you've gone through, I think it's time to accept that your cards are lost. Besides, you asked one of the guards to see if they can find us a set." Kolt said watching her rifle through another bag,
"They gotta be here somewhere… I really liked that artwork…" She said reaching deeper into the bag as she grabs something within as she feels a jolt of energy shock her, the inside of her bag begins to lite up. "Ow!" She flinches as she starts pulling out the strange object,
"Did you turn a flashlight on in there?" Kolt asked looking at her confused as he walks over next to her.
"TK has all of the flashlights…" Saya said as she pulls out the glowing object as it blinds them both for a moment. The brightness subsides as they see Saya holding a large white ring.
"The heck it that? I've never seen a white power ring before." Kolt asked as it takes a moment for Saya to recognize it as she quickly throws it to the other side of the room.
"Crap, crap, crap!" Saya said grabbing Kolts arm and pulling him further away from the ring.
"You wanna explain the panic mode?" Kolt asked looking at her confused as he goes along with her pulling,
"That's one of the seven world rings!" She said,
"Am I supposed to know what those are?" Kolt asked,
"They're like Chaos Emeralds but with emotions. They're from the world of the Arabian nights…" Saya said as she pulls up her communicator. "Crap! I forgot Elias shut off our communicators!"
"Arabian nights? Isn't that…?" Kolt thinks about it as he finally pieces it together. "You don't have a copy of that book right?" He asked as she shakes her head,
"No… but I know TK does…" She said as they see one of the books on the far side of the room fall off the bookshelf. "I really should have told her to throw it away…"
"We gotta get out of here." Kolt said knocking on the door, "Hey, this is an emergency we need you guys to let us go see Elias immediately!" He yelled as he tries to open the door, but it's locked,
"Now I'm panicking! Why in Chaos would they lock the door?" Saya said grabbing her chest as they see the book starts to glow, she was starting to feel trapped.
"Hey! Anyone out there? Did they both go looking for cards?" Kolt knocks on the door again but there was no response, "Saya what are we looking at here?" He pulls her behind him, trying to help her keep calm seeing she was on the verge of having an attack.
"Uhhhh, s… short version. I was tricked into the Arabian nights to collect the seven world rings to be sacrificed so the genie of the lamp could escape into our world…" Saya said,
"I liked Camelot's story way better…" He said getting ready to break the door down.
"Me too, Chaos Control!" She said transforming,
"Once I break this door down, you bolt and find the others." He said transforming, "I'll keep whatever comes out distracted,
"And you get pulled in instead and we having to chase after you just like last time? No, we both make a run for it." She said as something from the book blasts them both into the wall away from the door.
"I finally found you, you filthy blue rat." They hear as a heavily muscled purple skinned man with a red hair tie that sticks up above his head wearing white pants and a brown cape appears out of the book,
"Not this time hair tie! Knux we gotta juice!" Sonic said as she rushes him over to the door as he swings at the door but stops right before he strikes the door,
"I… I can't move!" Knuckles said struggling but his body wasn't moving, as Sonic tries to move but has the same issue,
"I can't… move either…" Sonic struggles. It felt like an unknown force was tightly holding onto them, almost to the point where it was hard to breathe.
"I won't let you get away that easily rat!" He said,
"Don't remember you… being able to do this before Erazor… And I told you last time, I'm a Hedgehog!" She said trying to move, he picks up the white world ring.
"It matters not what kind of vermin you call yourself." Erazor said floating over to them, "But how have you changed your appearance?" he said grasping her face,
"Not entirely Immortal," She said, "Stop touching my face…" She glared,
"You were reincarnated, interesting."
"What do you want? It's not like you can sacrifice me if I've already died." Sonic taunted,
"Death would be too easy of a punishment for getting in my way last time." He said as he notices his form fades a bit. "But we can discuss this further." He waves his hand as she is lifted off the ground and starts floating towards the book,
"Hey! Let her go!" Knuckles yells as he starts to fight through the paralysis.
"If you are so eager to join her, you can." He said moving him towards the book as well.
"This is way past not good…" Sonic said as they both are tossed into the light coming from the book as they disappear along with Erazor and the world the book closing after the light fades.
Alan catches up to Brandy and Caroline and they continue to walk back to their room as they notice there was no one guarding the door. "Okay who's getting in trouble now?" Alan said looking around as they see two guards walking back with trays of food,
"Apologies, Saya asked for playing cards And we went to grab them food." One said holding up a deck of cards,
"So you left them unsupervised?" Brandy said,
"The doors locked; it's not like they can't go anywhere." The other said putting the tray down and pulling out the keys.
"I hope Saya's doing okay…" Caroline said,
"It's only been a few hours; she probably took a nap." Alan said. The guard unlocks the door and opens it for them as they enter to an empty room. "Please tell me you guys are hiding under the cots trying to scare us…"
"How long were you two gone?" Brandy asked,
"N…Not even five minutes, the cafeteria is nearby…" The other said sounding terrified.
"But how is this possible, the door was locked!" The other one said,
"Elias! Do you copy?" Brandy quickly went to her coms,
"I'm about to step into a meeting what do you need?" He asked,
"Lock down the base, Saya and Kolt are gone." Brandy said as she hears muttered profanities as he attempts to compose himself.
"How?" He asked,
"We don't know, strangest part, they disappeared from a locked room." Brandy said,
"I'll initiate lockdown, the rest of you see what you can find. Sally will come join you shortly." He said.
"We just get out of one situation and this happens?" Alan said,
"You don't think Mephiles took them?" Caroline said,
"Let's hope not..." Brandy said as they all look around for clues,
Within the infirmary Sophia and TK wake up to the sound of alarm from the hallway as they both sit up confused, "What's that noise?" TK asked,
"That's the lockdown alarm," Sophia said, "Something might be happening outside." She turns on her coms, "Anyone hear me? What's the commotion about?"
"Y… you should be resting…" Caroline said,
"You shouldn't have answered…" Sophia hears Alan's voice,
"What does he mean by that?" Sophia said,
"T…try not to panic…" Caroline said, "Saya and Kolt are missing…" Sophia jumps out of the bed and heads towards the door,
"Sophia wait you need to stay in here during lockdown," Dr. Starline said as TK also climbs out of bed, "You most definitely need to stay put!"
"Not going to happen," Sophia said walking over to TK and helping her to the door as they leave, "Where are you guys?" Sophia said over the coms,
"We're in our room looking for clues," Brandy said as they quickly head there.
"You two really should be resting." Alan said as they enter the room,
"What happened?" Sophia asked trying not to sound angry as TK starts looking around,
"We came to check on them, the guards just got back at the same time as they were grabbing them food. They unlocked the door, and no one was inside." Brandy explained,
"You left your posts?" Sophia looked at the guards as they both look guilty,
"It looks like Saya was searching through her stuff…" TK said looking around,
"She said she couldn't find her cards." The other guard said,
"Was somebody reading the Arabian nights? It's laying on the floor." Caroline said as TK rushes over almost stumbling,
"Oh… Oh no…" TK said. Caroline hands her the book as TK starts looking around, "Where's my tablet?" She asked as they all help look, Alan finds it and hands it to her.
"What are you thinking TK?" Brandy asked,
"This was the other book Sonic was sent into after being titled the Legendary Hedgehog…" She said as she scans the book with her tablet and it starts analyzing,
"You can't be serious…" Alan said,
"I am… and this scan just confirmed similar readings to the ones I got from previous HQ. That would explain why they disappeared without a trace." TK said as Sally runs into the room,
"I just confirmed that no one has been in or out of the room and there were no strange shadows either." She said catching her breath "You two shouldn't be here, you should be resting."
"Except TK just solved the mystery in a matter of seconds…" Alan said shaking his head as she chuckles,
"You did? Then what happened?" Sally asked,
"They are inside this book." TK shows her,
"The Arabian nights? Wait if they are in there…" Sally said,
"It could be years before they get out…" Caroline said,
"Not necessarily, the time distortion only happened because of the Holy Grail combined with Morrigan's magic." TK said,
"So… it might not be as long?" Brandy asked,
"Key word being might…" Alan said,
"How do we get in?" Sophia asked opening the book,
"Wait!" TK tries to stop her as she looks up at her confused, but nothing happens. "I was worried if you opened the book you'd get sucked in…"
"But if that didn't happen… how do we get in?" Brandy asked,
"I… Don't know if we can…" TK said as Sophia looks terrified,
"Calm Sophia, we'll figure out how to get there." Caroline said,
"Maybe Tikal can help us." Alan said,
"You all head to the Alter room, I'll have the lockdown lifted and Elias and I will meet you there," Sally said as they all exit the room Unsure of how much time may have already passed within the Arabian Nights.
Sonic wakes up feeling dizzy as she sits up looking at her surroundings and not recognizing them. The floor was a pearlescent marble as it looked like they were alone in the large chamber. She notices Knuckles unconscious next to her wearing different clothes. A white Keffiyeh and White vest with purple belt and trim. She looks at herself seeing that her clothes had changed to that of something seen in the Arabian Nights, Light blue Shalwar with a blue see through chiffon skirt that dragged on the floor and a matching sleeveless halter top with gold bracers on her forearms.
"Hey, wake up…" Sonic starts to shake him,
"Huh?" He starts to wake up grabbing his head, "What happened?"
"Erazor Djinn dragged us into the Arabian Nights…" She said. Knuckles sits up as he notices her outfit and immediately gets flustered,
"W…what are you wearing?" He said startled as she crosses her arms,
"This happened in Camelot too remember? At least I'm wearing a shirt!" Saya said looking away as he notices it and becomes even more flustered, "T…this is not the time for that…" She stands up holding out her hand to him and helps him up.
"Where are we?" He asked as she walks over to two stained glass doors and opens them. They open up to a balcony as all they can see is clouds. She walks over to the railing and looks down seeing clouds below them as well.
"I recognize this place. I think this place was called the Night palace?" Sonic guessed, "It's Erazor's palace."
"He has a palace?" Knuckles said walking over next to her and looking down, "Well we're definitely going to need to find a way down. I could Glide us down, but it would be exhausting."
"Dang… I was hoping I'd get my ring back…" She said looking at her hand,
"That white one?" Knuckles asked as Sonic shakes her head,
"I had a friend here, her name is Shahra. She's the Genie of the Ring. Not as powerful as Erazor but was way nicer." She explained, "She could have at least gotten us a magic carpet."
"Maybe there's another way off this floating palace." Knuckles said,
"Yeah, I don't really want to hear his, far worse than death plans he has…" She said as they head towards the door.
"If he's a genie, what chance do we stand against him?" Knuckles asked,
"Last time I trapped him back inside his lamp… but that doesn't explain how he got out…" She ponders as Knuckles opens the door,
"Looks like he didn't lock us in." Knuckles said as they both peak out to an empty hallway.
"This is a little too easy…" Sonic said, "I have a bad feeling he's messing with us…"
"Only one way to find out." Knuckles said, "Stay close… I don't think you're going to have an easy time fighting in that outfit…" Sonic's face turns red,
"I…I can still fight!" She argued, "I still have plenty of movement." She looks away with a pout.
"You look like you're struggling to walk." Knuckles teased,
"It's different from what I've worn before… these pants are so baggy!" Sonic said moving them around "I look like one of those dancers…"
"If we weren't in a dangerous situation I'd say you looked pretty…" He said looking away.
"Keep it up and I will punch you, you Aladdin wannabe!" She glared as they continue down the hall,
The group makes it to the Alter room as Sophia quickly moves up to the Master Emerald holding the book, "I need a minuet…" Tails said sitting down in the grass,
"You really should have stayed in bed," Caroline said,
"I'll be okay…" TK said as Hope flies over,
"Chao!" They said,
"They want to help you," Caroline said as Hope touches TK's forehead and heals her.
"Whoa…" Alan said,
"I forgot that Hope could heal." Brandy said,
"Thanks Hope." TK smiles, instantly feeling better.
"Chao!"
"Tikal! We need your help!" Sophia called out as she appears in front of her,
"What seems to be the matter Shadow?" She asked,
"Saya and Kolt got sucked into this book, we want to go after them but don't know how." Sophia said as Tikal places her hand above the book,
"This magic is different from Chaos energy…" Tikal said with a frown,
"Does that mean they are trapped?" Alan asked looking concerned,
"There is still Chaos energy within… I may be able to connect with someone who might be able to help…" Tikal said as the book starts to glow, and a ring appears on top of it.
"How does a ring help?" Sophia picks it up as a woman appears from the ring through a veil of smoke with Pink hair.
"Merlina?" Brandy asked confused,
"My name is Shahra, genie of the ring." She lifts her head to all of them,
"I see the resemblance too…" Alan said to Brandy, "So each world has a double from our world."
"Who is it that summoned me?" She asked,
"We did, we need your help. Our friends were pulled within the book and we need to go after them." Sophia said,
"They were pulled within the book?" Shahra looked confused, "Are talking about how The Legendary blue Hedgehog Sonic and the one called Knuckles who were recently written into the book?"
"You know them?" TK asked as she looks at her confused,
"Ali Baba?"
"Huh?" TK asked confused, "My name's TK…"
"You look so much like him," Shahra said tilting her head, "And yes, Sonic was my previous master."
"Ali Baba must be your double in the Arabian nights." Brandy said,
"I can help you get to the world of the Arabian Nights but one of you will have to wear my ring for me to grant your wish… Simple wishes that is." Shahra said,
"Before that, how much time has passed in your world since they were written into the story?" Sophia asked,
"It has been a few hours." She explained,
"So time does move faster there…" TK said, "Then the longer we wait…"
"Even more time has passed for them…" Brandy said as the door of the Alter room opens and Sally and Elias enter,
"Sally told me what happened." Elias said looking at Shahra confused,
"She can get us in the book." Sophia said,
"But what if you're gone for another year?" Sally said looking concerned.
"When they return, they can wish to be brought back to a specific time." Shahra explained,
"That enough for us to go? Apparently every minuet were here it's possibly hours there." Alan said,
"Fine, if you genuinely believe you'll be back quickly, go. But if you are not back I will find a way to come after you." Elias said as Sophia nods handing him the book.
"So I just need to wear the ring?" Sophia asked as Shahra nods,
"Wait, we should transform just in case." Brandy said,
"Good point, we may not be able to transform when we get there." Alan said as they all transform,
"Here goes nothing…" Shadow places the ring on her finger feeling a slight pinch and Shahra disappears, "Uh… What now?"
"You must rub the ring to summon me," Shahra said as Shadow rubs her finger on the ring and Shahra reappears in front of her,
"Oh Master, what is thy wish?" She said with a bow,
"Take us to the world of the Arabian Nights." Shadow said,
"As you wish." She said as a magic carpet appears, "Climb aboard and we shall enter the world." They all start to climb on the carpet.
"This is weird…" Cream said as Blaze helps her onto the Carpet,
"Alright, hold on." Shahra said,
"To what?" Amy yelled as the book in Elias' hands opens and a light shines out of it as the magic carpet flies into it disappearing as they enter the Arabian Nights.
"This sucks!" Sonic complained as they continue walking down a long corridor, "It's been hours!"
"This place is so weird, I can't tell if we're going in circles or not…" Knuckles said letting out a long sigh, "How are we going to tell the others we're here?"
"No clue… We also have no idea how much time has passed out there…" Sonic said as her ears lower, "What if we've been gone for years…"
"Don't think about that right now. We should be more worried as why that Eraser guy hasn't jumped out and attacked us." Knuckles said,
"Yeah… that's been buggin me too. And good one, I'll definitely call him Eraser next time he shows." She chuckles as monsters appear, "We just had to say something didn't we."
"These guys are nothing." Knuckles said, "Don't think you can handle it?" He teased,
"You just watch, I'll out maneuver you while wearing a skirt." Sonic sticks out her tongue as she jumps up and kicks one of the monsters to the ground and it disappears. Knuckles punches one and it disappears as well,
"What are these guys?" Knuckles said as Sonic shrugs as she runs forward,
"No clue, probably calls them his evil minions." She jokes as she jumps away from another one accidently slipping on her skirt and falling on her shoulder, "Ow…" Knuckles rushes up and helps her to her feet,
"I told you to stay close."
"Just need to get used to these stupid clothes…" She said moving the skirt around,
"Here," He said grabbing the skirt and ripping it enough, so it was no longer touching the ground.
"Oh that's way better!" She smiles as she runs and spin dashes five of them. "Thanks!" She said giving him a thumbs up as he finishes off the last one.
"I would rather do that then have to watch you trip every five minutes." He chuckles,
"Yeah what's the deal? When we were in Camelot I had clothes that I could fight in. This is not made for fighting." Sonic said looking annoyed,
"That's because I took the liberty to adjusting your attire." Erazor Djinn said as he appears in a puff of smoke in front of them, "After all you must look the part for your new role." Sonic grabs Knuckles and runs them back a distance.
"New rule to keep social distancing! Creeps must stay about thirty feet away at all times!" She said,
"What did he mean by new role?" Knuckles asked,
"Not sure but let's get away from him before he explains what he has planned over a long-winded speech." Sonic said grabbing his hand and they run away from him,
"Keep running little rats!" They hear his echo from down the hall as he is no longer in sight, "Continue to amuse me with your futile efforts."
"Man I hate that guy…" Sonic said looking creeped out.
"So he's really the genie from the story of Aladdin?" Knuckles asked,
"Yeah and we're not talking about the happy cartoon one with catchy songs. This guy was imprisoned in the lamp for doing something bad and wouldn't be freed until he granted the wishes of one thousand people. Turns out he became more bitter after he served his time." She explained,
"And probably hates you even more since you stopped his plans and trapped him back in his lamp." Knuckles said,
"I think that's a definite on the hate with the whole fate worse than death thing… We should keep moving just in case. Hopefully, we find a way off this flying castle soon." She said as they run ahead,
They all are blinded by a bright light as they see a sandy desert with an extravagant kingdom below them with the light of the sunset on the horizon, "Whoa…" Amy said as he sees his clothes changed and turns to the others and sees their outfits all had changed similarly as well. They all wore white Shalwar. But Amy had on a red vest and no shirt. Shadow had on a red shirt and black vest. Blaze's top was a dark purple with a white hooded scarf. Cream's top was orange with a long white vest and Tails' top was tan with a red vest and purple sash.
"Oh this is much easier to move in than in Camelot." Cream said happily as the carpet gets to the ground.
"This place is huge… How will we know where to start?" Blaze said,
"If I may, Master…" Shahra said,
"It's Shadow, don't call me master." She said,
"Oh… of course. If I may, perhaps we could ask those that Sonic has encountered the last time he was here."
"She, Sonic is a girl now…" Amy said,
"I see…" Shahra said looking confused,
"Who were the people Sonic had contact with?" Cream asked,
"One of them was Ali Baba, The other was Sinbad of the seven seas, King Solomon, and I believe Sonic was not very fond of, King Shahryar." She explained,
"Can you show us where to find them?" Shadow asked,
"Of course!" Shahra said. She points ahead as they all climb off the carpet and it disappears.
"This is so cool!" Tails said looking around the bustling bazaar,
"We need to be careful; I haven't read this book so anything could happen," Blaze said,
"The Arabian Nights are a collection of short stories. Most of them being about adventure, romance or revenge." Shadow said,
"Have you read it?" Cream asked her,
"I did a long time ago for a school project… but I can't remember the details. It's a long book." Shadow said,
"Let's hope another fictional character doesn't try to romance your girlfriend." Amy teased as Shadow glares at him.
"We should be able to find Ali Baba around this area." Shahra said,
"Is that you Shahra?" They hear a soft male voice as they turn to see a man slightly shorter than Amy who looked similar to appearance to Tails stands behind them,
"Okay, now I know how you feel Amy…" Tails said as Shahra floats over next to him,
"It is nice to see you again Ali Baba," She said,
"It's nice to see you too…" He looks curiously at Tails, "Who are your friends?"
"These are friends of Sonic." Shahra introduced, "I just realized I have not gotten all of your names…"
"I'm Tails, this is Amy, Cream, Blaze and Shadow." She introduced them all,
"It's nice to meet you, Is there something I can help with?" He asked,
"Have you seen Sonic recently?" Cream asked,
"Sonic? No, I haven't seen him since we escaped from that pirate ship." He said,
"Wait there are pirates here too?" Blaze said,
"Has anything strange been happening lately?" Shadow asked,
"Now that you mention it, I haven't heard from Sinbad in a while. He was going to help me find a magic apple." He said,
"Magic apple?" Amy said,
"Yeah, apparently it has the power to heal." He explained, "Sinbad was supposed to meet me a few hours ago but he didn't show."
"Is he usually like that?" Blaze asked,
"It depends on the situation, But he was really excited, so I thought he'd show up." He said,
"Where does he usually hang out?" Tails asked,
"By the docks, We can ask if any of the other sailors have seen him." Ali Baba said, "But we should hurry, the roads are dangerous at nighttime." They follow him towards the docks,
It's starting to get cold…" Knuckles said as they continue walking, "We should try and find a spot to rest for the night, we'll burn ourselves out otherwise."
"Y… Yeah," Sonic said rubbing her arms trying to get warm. "I forgot that the days here are hot and the nights are freezing."
"We'll both freeze if we stay out here in the open, let's see if there's another room like the one we woke up in." He said as they start checking for unlocked rooms.
"This one is unlocked." Sonic said peeking into the room. It was an extravagant bedroom with a balcony and silk curtains draped all over the room. "It doesn't look like anyone's in here," She said opening the door a little more and slowly enters as Knuckles follows behind her,
"And it's already way warmer in here…" He said as he closes the door behind him, "Let's take a look around just in case,"
"In case of what? A monster under the bed?" Sonic joked,
"He seems pretty adamant to treat this all as a game. There could be traps all over the place." He said,
"Good point… but everything looks good over here." She said as she sees a bowl of fruit on the low table surrounded with pillows. She reaches over and grabs an apple,
"Wait, it could be poisoned," Knuckles said grabbing her wrist, stopping her from eating the apple.
"Spira told me a while back, what would be the point of poisoning me if they went through all the trouble of taking me?" Sonic said as he pauses,
"You have a point…" He said letting out a sigh,
"You were the one who said we needed to rest. We need fuel too." Sonic said pulling her arm out of his grip and taking a bite of the apple. "You're being more overly cautious than usual. Don't think I can take care of myself?"
"I know you can't take care of yourself." He teased, "Sophia's not here to make sure you don't do something dumb."
"Pushing your luck there Knuckle head." She said tossing him an apple,
"Try to stop being so prone to getting captured and maybe I wouldn't tease you." He said taking a bite of the apple.
"I can count a few times you were the one who needed rescuing." She grinned,
"Nothing compared to you." He said with a yawn, "Must be that whole Legendary Hedgehog stuff."
"I vote we try to get rid of that title, maybe then things won't come after me left and right." She chuckles with a yawn, "Man… I'm beat…" She said sitting down,
"Sometimes I forget how chill you can be in stressful situations." He shakes his head as he looks back at her to see her resting her head against the table asleep, "And that you can literally fall asleep anywhere." He chuckles as going over and lifting her up carrying her over to the bed tucking her in,
"You seem to care for her a lot." Knuckle hears behind him taking him by surprise. He quickly turns around as Erazor grabs him by his vest before he could react. "Let's have a chat." They both disappear in a puff of smoke leaving Sonic asleep in the room alone.